Breanna Stewart sparks US to 105-64 rout of Czech Republic after a scare vs Italy

BERLIN (AP) — Breanna Stewart had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the United States rout the Czech Republic 105-64 on Monday.

The Americans rebounded from their worst preliminary-round game in 50 years after edging Italy 55-52 on Sunday. Stewart set the tone early to make sure that wouldn't happen again as the U.S. won its 33rd in a row in the tournament, going back to a semifinal loss to Russia in the 2006 World Cup.

Next up for the U.S. is the quarterfinal round on Thursday. They’ll face the winner of the Hungary vs. Japan game which takes place Tuesday.

Stewart had 11 points in the first 10 minutes as the U.S. jumped out to a 29-15 lead. The Americans had only 30 points in the first half against Italy. They kept it going in the second quarter behind Napheesa Collier, who had seven of her 12 points in the period.

The Americans extended the advantage to 57-33 at the half. They weren't challenged in the second half by the Czechs as the lead ballooned to more than 40 points.

Stewart finished short of her World Cup career-high of 23 points set against China in 2018. She only played just over 16 minutes against the Czechs. Stewart sat in the fourth quarter giving her no chance at becoming only the second player in World Cup history to have a triple double. The Czech's Erika Dobrovicova accomplished the feat in 1994 against Spain.

The Czech Republic finished winless in pool play. The Czechs were playing in their first World Cup since 2014. They won the silver medal when they hosted the event in 2010.

In other games on Monday, China beat Italy; Germany topped Mali; Belgium beat Australia; Puerto Rico edged Turkey; France routed Nigeria; Spain beat Japan and Hungary slipped past Korea.

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